SRHR Archives - HealthTimes

Power Imbalances Continue To Drive Women Into Gender-Based Violence

November 28, 2020November 28, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

RESEARCH and reports show that about 94% of gender based violence cases reported between March to October 2020 were against women amidst indications that men still believe in gender norms and traditional harmful practices which usually lead into violation of women’s rights. By Paticia Mashiri There are mainly four forms of gender-based violence which include economic, sexual, physical and emotional abuse while poverty has been identified as a leading cause of GBV. Speaking at a GBV round table dialogue with women in the informal sector which was hosted by Women’s…

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Zimbabwe Sets-Up National Task force To Monitor ICPD@25 Commitments

November 18, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

ZIMBABWE has commenced the process of setting up a National Task-force (NTF) for monitoring the implementation of commitments the country made at the 25th International Conference on Population Development (ICPD@25) that was held in Nairobi, Kenya in 2019. By Michael Gwarisa Through support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Partners in Population Development (PPD) have selected Zimbabwe and nine other countries namely Bangladesh, Morocco, Thailand, Nigeria, South Africa, Indonesia, India, Benin, and Uganda to take further initiatives to continued national consultations through National Task Forces (NTF) for South…

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Communities and Midwives Should Collaborate To Reduce Unintended Pregnancies and Unsafe Abortions – Dr Magure

November 17, 2020November 17, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

PARIRENYATWA Group of Hospitals Clinical Director, Dr Tsitsi Magure has called for increased partnership between women pressure groups, communities and midwives amidst indications of increased admissions of young teenage girls into health facilities as a result of teenage pregnancies and post labor or abortion related complications. By Michael Gwarisa The call also comes at a time the country is debating the adoption of the Age of Consent which seeks to reduce age restrictions towards accessing Sexual and Reproductive Health Services (SRH) including contraceptives to 12 years, inorder to reduce Early…

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One year after Nairobi, the march continues towards rights and choices for all

November 12, 2020November 12, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

Despite global COVID-19 crisis, governments uphold support for women’s and girls’ health and rights, one year after historic summit on ICPD25 AS the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a heavy toll on the health and economies of countries around the world, governments, non-governmental organizations, international financial institutions and the private sector are stepping up political, financial and in-kind support for programmes that protect the health and rights of women and girls in developing countries. A year ago, at the landmark Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, the world came together to commit…

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Sexual Gender Based Violence Linked To High Unsafe Abortions in Zimbabwe

November 5, 2020November 5, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

HIGH cases of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) have been linked to an increase in cases of unsafe and illegal abortions by young girls and women in Zimbabwe, a top government official has said. By Michael Gwarisa Speaking at the Health and Wellness Day that was organized by the Women Action Group (WAG) in Mabvuku, Ministry of Women Affairs, Community Small and Medium Enterprise Development Provincial Development Officer Mr Ernest Chimbodza said Zimbabwe was losing lives of young women and girls to unsafe abortions every year. Ladies and gentlemen,…

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Religious and Traditional Leaders join SRHR Africa Trust in the fight against GBV

November 5, 2020 Patricia Mashiri

TRADITIONAL leaders have agreed that there are some harmful cultural practices that should be abolished if the vision to end Gender Based Violence (GBV) is to be realised. By Patricia Mashiri These abusive cultural norms include chiramu (i, kugara nhaka (wife inheritance) and kuzvarira (marrying off young girls) among others. The traditional leaders accepted that culture is dynamic and therefore people should not be confined to past practices in which some of them were against women’s wishes and were abusive. Speaking during a GBV dialogue led by Sexual Reproductive Health…

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Women Cant Rape Men According to Zimbabwean Law

October 30, 2020October 30, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

DO you all still remember those days a few years back when newspapers would be flooded with stories of women who would drunk unsuspecting men, have sex with them without their consent for the purposes of harvesting sperms? Almost every headline screamed “Women Rapists On The Lose.” But do you what the Zimbabwe law says about rape and the procedures one should take reporting a rape case? By Michael Gwarisa According to Zimbabwe’s Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act, it is impossible for a woman to rape a man and…

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More Zim Women Withdraw Rape and SGBV Cases from Police and Courts

October 29, 2020October 29, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

IN a rather disturbing trend, numbers of women withdrawing rape and Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) cases they would have filed with the police or courts have been increasing over the past few years. By Michael Gwarisa Even though the reasons behind the huge withdrawals are yet to be ascertained, it is largely believed that societal and family pressures could be the reason behind the huge spike in case being withdrawn by survivors. Presenting at a Media Sensitisation Workshop on reporting on SGBV in Zimbabwe that was organised by UNICEF,…

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Say It Louder’ Webinar Series addresses the Impact of COVID-19 on Early and Unintended Pregnancy in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region

October 27, 2020October 27, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

THE COVID-19 pandemic has impacted issues such as access to health and education services, including contraception, gender-based violence and teenage pregnancy, highlighting the critical need for targeted messaging, information and resources for young people. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) released data showing that the pandemic could result in a projected seven million unintended pregnancies. Since July of 2019, UNESCO, SAfAIDS, UNFPA and Save the Children Sweden with support from PCI Media have been running the Let’s Talk campaign in the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region. The program aims to reduce early…

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Steroids boost survival of preterm babies in low-resource settings, new study finds

October 24, 2020October 24, 2020 Michael Gwarisa

Accurate pregnancy dating and quality care combined with the steroids are key to survival THE results of a new clinical trial, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that dexamethasone—a glucocorticoid used to treat many conditions, including rheumatic problems and severe COVID-19— can boost survival of premature babies when given to pregnant women at risk of preterm birth in low-resource settings. The WHO ACTION-I trial resolves an ongoing controversy about the efficacy of antenatal steroids for improving preterm newborn survival in low-income countries. Dexamethasone and similar drugs…

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